New Delhi: The meeting between Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resolve the stand-off on revenue sharing between the State government and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) at the Odisha Bhawan today ended with a positive note.
Though no statement was made by either of the leaders on the outcome of the meeting, both expressed hope to find a solution at an early date.
Talking to media after the meeting, Patnaik said, “We discussed the ways to resolve the IOCL issue and are hopeful of an amicable and positive solution.”
Expressing hope Pradhan said, “We will work out a solution which will be profitable to both the Odisha government and the IOCL,” adding that interest of the State’s people will be safeguarded.
Among others, Chief Secretary AP Padhi and officials of the Petroleum Ministry were present in the meeting.
The Odisha government and IOCL had inked an agreement on February 16, 2004 for setting up an oil refinery at Paradip. One of the clauses in the agreement was that payment of the value added tax (VAT) on sale of products of Paradip oil refinery will be deferred until the refinery earns profit.
But now as the refinery has started making profits, the State government issued a demand note of Rs 2,745 crore to IOCL on February 27 and directed to repay the same.
On the other hand, the IOCL, which had collected VAT by selling its products in the State till December 2016 after it started production on September 22, 2015, is opposing the State government’s demand.
Besides, the State government is questioning why the IOCL decision to increase its capacity from nine million tonne to 15 million tonne without informing it.